Taxynomy
Family: Cellulomonadaceae

Natural habitat
T. whipplei is all over in the environment, in sewage, plants and in human stools and saliva.

Clinical significance
1) classical Whipplei Disease (WD), which present with weight loss, diarrhea, and arthropathy in 75% of patients by the time of diagnosis.

2) isolated infection of cardiac valves without classical WD

3) asymptomatic carriers of T. whipplei. In these cases it is still unclear whether the asymptomatic carriers are only passing the agent through their stool.

T. whipplei infection also results quite often in cardiac, lung, and central nervous systen (CNS) signs and symptoms, which can occur even in the absence of gastrointestinal manifestations.

PAY ATTENTION
culture-negative endocarditis